This application is a continuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/EP02/08509 filed on Jul. 31, 2002, designating the United States of American, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Priority is claimed based on Federal Republic of Germany Patent Application No. 101 41 967.8 filed Aug. 21, 2001.
The present invention relates to an arrangement for application in open-end rotor spinning comprising an opening roller which is driven by a tangential belt and which can be brought to a standstill by means of a brake, said opening roller being taken up in a swivel housing, which is supported by a holding device and which can be removed therefrom together with the assembled opening roller while the tangential belt is still circulating.
An arrangement of this type is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,068 and from the practical embodiment of the arrangement described therein, which is delivered worldwide in large-scale production.
In the known arrangement, the swivel housing can be disassembled together with the assembled opening roller while the tangential belt is circulating. During disassembly, the contact between the opening roller and the tangential belt is interrupted. Due to its mass, however, the opening roller continues to rotate for some time thereafter. An operator coming into contact with the still rotating opening roller either before or after the disassembly is at risk of injury, if the opening roller has not been stopped beforehand by means of activating the brake.
It is an object of the present invention to permit safer disassembly of the swivel housing in a simple way.
This object has been achieved in accordance with the present invention in that a locking device is provided which prevents the swivel housing from being removed while the opening roller is still rotating.
With the embodiment according to the present invention, it is now possible to remove the swivel housing for maintenance purposes from the operator""s side without the risk of injury from a still rotating opening roller.
The locking device can take various forms and can function either electrically or mechanically.
In an advantageous embodiment, the locking device is coupled with the brake in such a way that the swivel housing is only released when the brake has been activated. It can thus be established in a simple way that the swivel housing can only then be removed when the brake has already been activated. The risk of injury from the opening roller to the operator due to inattention or carelessness is therefore eliminated.
In an advantageous embodiment, the locking device is designed as a movable lever, which can be brought into a position which prevents the swivel housing being removed. It is hereby practical when the lever is arranged on the swivel housing and comprises a stopping face which can be disposed on a countersurface in the arrangement for open-end rotor spinning. The risk of injury can thus be eliminated in a particularly simple and effective way.
In a further advantageous embodiment, the locking device and the brake are activated by a joint activating element. Protection from injury can thus be obtained by means of a very simple design, as the already present activating lever for the brake can be used for a further function.